Uttarakhand CM Rawat calls President's Rule 'a murder of democracy'

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Sunday condemned the imposition of President's rule in the state as a murder of democracy and the Constitution, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hands were dipped in the blood of the trampled aspirations of the people.

Alleging that central rule was a result of a premeditated conspiracy hatched by the Centre to dislodge a democratically-elected Congress government in the state, Rawat also said the BJP was thirsty for his blood right from the day he assumed office on February one, 2014 and did not want his government to stabilise.

“It is a murder of democracy and the Constitution. Modi’s hands are dipped in the blood of the trampled aspirations of the people of Uttarakhand,” Rawat said at his first news conference after the imposition of President’s rule, capping the ten-day long political upheaval in Uttarakhand after nine Congress rebels raised a banner of revolt against him and supported the BJP.

Furious: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said the BJP was thirsty for his blood right from the day he assumed office in February 2014, and did not want his government to stabilise

“What has happened is the result of a premeditated conspiracy hatched by the Centre to dislodge a democratically-elected Congress government in the state,” he alleged, adding that there was a propaganda blast against him that raked up issues relating to alleged corruption.

Claiming that he had clear majority in the House, Rawat said it was part of a conspiracy by the BJP to impose president’s rule even before giving the state government a chance to go for a floor test.

The four-year-old Congress government was slated to go for floor test in the state Assembly on Monday. Rawat alleged that there was a money deal to lure the Congress rebels, adding that some people say it is Rs 1,000 crore, and some Rs 500 crore.

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He said the BJP had decided not to let his government stabilise from the day he took over and slashed “my head as the first opportunity presented itself”.

“The way we were being given repeated threats since yesterday (Saturday), the way the governor publicly issued a threat at a press conference in Delhi, it was clear things were moving towards this eventuality. That BJP was thirsty for my blood was clear from day one. They had decided at the very outset that they won’t let the Harish Rawat government stabilise,” he added.

Accusing the Centre of always being step-motherly, Rawat claimed it did not release money for reconstruction in Kedarnath and Ardhkumbh forcing a disaster-hit state to manage its affairs on its own.